Cult Corner: ‘Caprica’ Was The ‘Battlestar Galactica’ Spin-Off Too Good For This World

When we talk about streaming culture, we’re usually enthusing about what’s new, but one of the best things about streaming is how it’s made old and obscure cult hits available to a new generation. Presenting Cult Corner: your weekly look into hidden gems and long-lost curiosities that you can find on streaming.

In 2003, Syfy made its mark on television history by letting Ronald D. Moore boldly reinterpret a kitschy 1970s series as a bleak fantasy epic. At first, people made fun of the network for resurrecting Battlestar Galactica as a miniseries, but as soon as the show debuted as a tight and thrilling series, audiences were hooked. We fell in love with Starbuck, Apollo, and all those shifty, sexy Cylons. We got caught up in the journey of a few thousand people struggling to outrun their doom. We even accepted that “All Along The Watchtower” could have been an ancient song from across the stars beckoning sleeper Cylons to consciousness. Battlestar Galactica was more than just a hit; it was one of the first great “binge-watches” of the Golden Age of Television.

So, when the series wrapped up in 2009, it was only natural that SyFy would order a prequel series. Caprica was going to take place 58 years before Battlestar Galactica and delve into the strange origin story of the Cylon empire. The show also promised to explain more about the Colonies’ culture and would introduce audiences to Joseph Adama (Esai Morales), Commander Bill Adama’s father and Captain Lee “Apollo” Adama’s grandfather. While critics praised Caprica for its bold take on difficult topics, Battlestar Galactica fans tuned out. So what happened?

Caprica‘s biggest problem was that it was far more challenging than its source material. Battlestar Galactica may have followed a ragtag band of survivors in an ancient galactic struggle against robots who could look like people who were secretly robots, but it hooked audiences by mixing gritty action with a compelling soap opera. By the time Battlestar Galactica leapt into its weird mythology and gave us befuddling plot twists, most fans were already on board.

Caprica opens in a weird virtual reality nightclub where three teenaged religious zealots shrug off orgies and murders. These plucky teens aren’t just hatching a plan to run away from home, but to give birth to artificial intelligence. If that’s not enough, Caprica also deals with themes of class warfare, xenophobia, cultural elitism, monotheism as cult, scientific hubris, the death of children, and terrorism. Yup, in the first 12 minutes, one of those cute teens – future Tut star Avan Jogia, to be exact – becomes a suicide bomber who murders thousands of innocent commuters. In essence, Caprica could be a little “uncomfy” for the casual sci-fi viewer.

Caprica was good, but it was in no way as bombastic as its addictive parent series. Instead of watching Captain Adama’s dad kick all kinds of ass, we saw him grapple with grief and struggle with his morality. (NOT FUN.) We didn’t have badass female characters like Starbuck, Six, or President Laura Roslin; we had emotionally-troubled Amanda Graystone (Paula Malcolmson), teen cylon Zoe-A (Alessandra Torresani), and Clarice Willow (Polly Walker), a prep school headmistress who was secretly trying to convert everyone to a monotheistic cult. All these characters were fascinating and nuanced, but they weren’t exactly shooting up Cylons or planning wars. Oh, and none of them had the electric sexuality of a certainTricia Helfer.

Still, Caprica was not without its fans, nor was it without merit. The series refused to talk down to its viewers and trusted that its audience was smart enough to keep up with all the plot twists, scientific theories, and philosophizing at hand. Check out Caprica if you dare. Word to the wise, though: Caprica is scheduled to leave Netflix after today. No word on when it will surface on streaming again, but like the consciousness of Zoe Graystone, we’re sure it’ll return with a vengeance. [Watch Caprica on Netflix]